Metal Gear Cherub
by TheCobaltKiller
Summary: Big Boss and his private militia, Diamond Dogs, are suddenly called upon by an unlikely client in the midst of their recovery, after their redevelopment in 1984. Big Boss, his comrades and their friends in London investigate a mysterious bombing which may lead to an unthinkable discovery.
1. The Request

"Your call, boss."

Smoking an e-cigar, the middle-aged commander stared down the request addressed to a title he'd once worn proud; 'Big Boss'. The bright screen, on which the message was displayed, illuminated his one good eye. He pocketed his e-cigar and turned to his trusty comms officer. Awaiting a response, the young man sat, fingers resting on his keyboard.

"Get back to them," his boss said to him. "Tell them we'll take the job. Revenue's been a little tight recently. I owe it to Deputy Chairman McAfferty anyway."

At his boss' designation, the young comms officer began typing. His head was down-facing, just above his keyboard, concealing a small hint of a smile. Snake, as he was sometimes known to his comrades, turned and walked away, towards the high-grade dormitories. As he calmly traversed Mother Base, his nearby soldiers saluted him. He could help but smile at the respect given to him by the men he had recruited as they passed him on common ground they could call their own. It wasn't long before Big Boss reached his destination.

Opposite his room was that of his second-in-command, Kazuhira Miller. He knocked twice before entering. Kaz was shirtless, doing his morning chin-ups. After a couple more, Kaz dismounted and put on his shirt and sunglasses. On his desk, lay his dog tags, which he soon put on. They glistened in the light, but not as much as the sweat on his brow.

"Well?" he asked. "This one better be good."

"Follow me, Kaz."

With that, Snake led his loyal vice out of the room, and back to the command centre. As they back-tracked Snake's movements from but minutes prior, similar soldiers saluted their bosses. When they arrived at the command centre, Big Boss pointed to the large screen above the desk of computers, at which the same young comms officer still sat. On the screen, was the message that Snake had received before. It read;

_Dear Big Boss,_

_John. It's been a while, hasn't it? How's Kaz? Well, I suppose I ought to cut to the chase. I write to you about an incident that occurred in London recently. I haven't much time to explain now, but here are the basic details;_

_A bomb exploded in the baggage area of Terminal 2 at London Heathrow Airport. The bomb exploded at 7:55 pm, as 60 people were inside the baggage area. The blast injured 22, one seriously. No one has claimed responsibly for the bombing._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Dr. Terence McAfferty_


	2. The Mysterious Cargo

"London, huh?" Kaz ran his fingers through his hair.

"And that's not all," Big Boss pointed to a logo, located in the top-right corner of the on-screen message.

"Cherub?!"

"Exactly."

"And they call upon us after a mere 12 hours. Strange..."

The two stood, in complete confusion, contemplating their options for when the time came for their work to begin. Before either of them could even think to speak up, a short beeping, followed by the unanticipated rise of the comms officer, sounded. Both Kaz and his boss turned to the young man, who spoke, "We just received a reply, sir. On screen now."

Immediately, the two turned to the screen and began reading the reply. Big Boss turned to a recruit in his 30s, posted by the door. "Prepare for the arrival of our guests," he said. "It's a long flight out. Have Morpho One meet them along the way, it's not easy to find us out here in the mid-Atlantic. Kaz, with me." He followed the guard out of the room, Kaz behind, before heading to the operating room.

When they had arrived, Kaz sat at the central table, while his boss simply paced back and forth. Eventually, he pulled up a map of London Heathrow and its surrounding area. He placed his finger on one part of the airport, leaning across the table, and then spoke, "This is Terminal 2. Yesterday, on the 20th of April at 1955 hours, a bomb went off. At the time there were approximately 60 people in the vicinity, 22 of whom were injured, but only one was injured seriously. As of so far, no one has come forward as responsible for this attack."

"Correct," said Kaz, after a short pause. "That is how it was described in the message we received from your friend in MI5."

"Then why, pray tell, would Cherub contact us after a mere 12 hours of investigation?"

A few seconds of silence haunted the room before Kaz finally put forward an idea. "Obviously," he began. "Something has gone on behind the scenes of the investigation, and so McAfferty is looking to you to aid him and his agents in an undercover investigation."

"Kids," Snake grunted. "Not agents, kids."

"Oh Snake," said Kaz. "You know just as well as me the capability of that agency."

"Whatever," he murmured. "Why does he need us for a simple undercover op?"

"Perhaps, because it isn't so simple," Kaz smiled, spinning gently left and right in his chair.

"Sir!" said a recruit of about 20 years of age by the door, announcing himself. "We just received an unscheduled shipping from Cuba! It's awaiting you by one of the ports."

The three headed out to the port at which the Cuban ship had been docked, where a few guards had stationed themselves, by a box. One spoke up, when they approached, "Sir! This container, we haven't any idea what it could be. What should we-"

However, before he could finish Big Boss upholstered his tactical knife, a reassured expression on his face. He pried the top off, and opened it. He looked in, and smiled. Confused, Kaz peered in. When he saw the wooden crate's contents he sighed and turned around, unimpressed. Then he swivelled back round, and stormed over to the box.

"Really, boss?" his words full of spite. "Cuban cigars?"

"Now, now, Kaz. Calm yourself," he replied. "You know I've switched to Phantom Cigars. It's what's under these that I want." He began removing the layer of cigars atop the real cargo, handful by handful. Intrigued, Kaz joined in, in order to aid in his boss' endeavours. Soon, the two revealed a rectangular metal crate, which they removed, so as to access its contents. When they did, Kaz saw what Snake had really been after.

"What is that?" asked Kaz.

"They call her the Mk I, an early model for a small, stealthier Metal Gear. Well, not quite. These are the parts Huey required for his design."

"That Emmerich... And that?" he pointed to an envelope underneath the parts.

"Compensation," Snake said. He opened it, and pulled out a lighter, cigarette case, pen and cufflink, all made of gold.

"What?"

"They call it," he said, marvelling at it. "A Golden Gun."

"Interesting, to say the least..."

Having resolved the false alarm, the two parted ways in order to wait for the arrival of their guests, their clients. Big Boss went to prepare his things, however Kaz simply got back to his exercise. Meanwhile, the guards were left to deal with the cargo. Half way out over the Atlantic Ocean, Morpho One began to guide a British helicopter back to Mother Base.


	3. The Job

A short while past before the sound of helicopters could be heard outside near one of the larger helipads that Mother Base had to offer. Big Boss stepped out, Kaz to his left, and proceeded to where the two helicopters would soon land.

"Command centre," the young comms officer heard over the radio. "This is Morpho One, with our guests from the United Kingdom. Preparing to land."

"Roger that, Morpho One. The boss is waiting for you now. Command out."

Slowly but steadily, the two helicopters landed and turned off their engines. Morpho One's Pilot, tired from his flight, and hungry for lunch, headed to the cafeteria. From the British helicopter, Dr Terence McAfferty, Deputy Chairman of Cherub, and a young boy, descended. The two from Cherub approached their two hosts at Mother Base.

"McAfferty," Snake put on a fake smile. "It's been a while. And this is?"

"Eli," the boy said. He seemed to be around the age of twelve, at least as far as Big Boss could tell. The young Caucasian boy's blond hair was slicked back, naturally. Snake could see the attitude in his green eyes.

After a short silence, Dr McAfferty began to explain, "Eli here is part of the favour I need from you. He will be posing as your son, as part of your cover story. Please," McAfferty looked around. "Might we find somewhere else to speak?" The four of them proceeded to the operations room, where they could hold their small conference.

"Well, then," the Deputy Chairman began, when they arrived. "If we're alone, I suppose I ought to continue. We followed up on a lead from the bombing, this symbol." Terence, as he was known by very few other than his deceased mother, pulled out a photograph of a charred wall, which had a strange emblem that had been painted on, likely graffiti. "It led us back to a terrorist cell involved in the Iraq-Iran war that broke out four years ago. Intel from one of our assets' resources has led us to believe that the cell has planned a second attack. The person we believe to be executing this attack in three days, should be staying in a hotel near Heathrow; The Holiday Inn. We need the two of you to go there and stop him, try to extract as much information from him as you can."

"Hmm," Snake contemplated on what he had just heard. "Sounds interesting... But why me? Surely you've the resources to have a more likely agent fill the role of this kid's father."

"Because it's not just you he needs," Eli said, unimpressed.

Kaz raised an eyebrow at this remark, "Who else, then?"

"You," replied McAfferty. "I need you to pose as a weapons expert, in order to infiltrate an Iranian weapons lab. Your _'assistant' _shall be Chloe, another agent of mine. She can't stand helicopters so she came here by boat. She ought to arrive soon."

"What's so special about this weapons lab?" asked Kaz, almost worried.

"We believe that these facilities are developing the weapons for the terrorist cell that hit London Heathrow."

"So what if they are?" Kaz's panic was beginning to show. "What then?"

"Well, if they are, I suppose we'll use it as an excuse to bomb the place, and tip the scales of the war a little bit."

"But why help Iraq?" interrupted Snake.

"Not so much help them as try to protect ourselves and end this Middle Eastern conflict. As if the Russians weren't enough..."

They called this era the Cold War. A stale mate. Everyone in panic, awaiting the 'imminent' attack from their 'enemies'. A war where few shots were fired, save few for the poor selection politicians or scientists who happened to have a price over their head. Yet somewhere in the world, there was always conflict, and there was always terror.


	4. Waiting

The soft humming of an engine could be heard from outside of the operations room. Everyone stopped what they were doing and glanced at the door. They all looked back at each other, assuming that this had been Chloe. The humming gradually grew to a roar as the four 'comrades' exited their small conference. A young woman on a motor boat pulled up to the very dock that had harboured the Cuban boat. She stepped out and walked towards her boss, colleague and two hosts. Fixing her blond shoulder length hair, she greeted the four, and they returned the favour.

"This," McAfferty said, introducing her. "Is Chloe. She will be working with you, Kaz. She's sixteen, soon to be seventeen; this just might be her last mission, let's give her a good send off, shall we?" He turned to Chloe.

She returned a short glance, and then looked Kaz up and down. Offering a hand, she spoke, "Nice to meet you."

"And you," Kaz replied, unsure.

The five discussed all they needed to for a little while more, before Big Boss led their three guests from Cherub to the barracks. Many soldiers, resting between patrol shifts, saluted their commander, puzzled by the three behind him. _Could they be recruits? _They thought. _Surely not, they don't seem of sufficient age. _Nevertheless, the men returned to their affairs once the four had passed, while their boss sought out two empty officer rooms.

The first he designated to his old friend, Dr McAfferty, and then he led McAfferty's two agents to the second room. McAfferty had only just settled down on his bed when he heard Eli's protest, "What?! I have to share my room with a girl?!" At this remark, McAfferty simply sighed. Shortly to follow, Snake entered McAfferty's room. He explained to McAfferty how he had decided to fly out to England later in the day. "Until then," he said. "Feel free to enjoy any facilities we have here. Just stay safe, and try to control that Eli of yours."

It didn't take long for Eli to get bored, and he decided to venture out, to explore Mother Base. As he was leaving the room, Chloe, who was lying on her bed, stopped him. "Don't even try it," she said, still reading her book.

"Try what?" Eli asked, acting innocent.

"Don't even try going off and looking for something to do. You'll either get lost or, even worse, break something."

"I'll be fine," he pouted.

"I don't care about you," she said, her voice growing louder as Eli proceeded down the hallway. "I care about not destroying the homes of our hosts. This isn't the campus, you know; it's not so kid-friendly."

Grunting at Chloe's last remark, Eli continued down the corridor, searching for something to keep him busy. He walked proud as he exited the barracks. The sun was harsh on his face, but he didn't care much for it. Instead he tried to decide where to go. As he walked around on the platform, he noticed a rather large tower block with a long-range radar antenna on top. Cautious of any patrols that may spot him, he slowly opened the door and entered.

Sitting alone in front of many computers and monitors was the same young comms officer who had greeted Morpho One and the helicopter it had escorted to Mother Base. Casually, Eli strolled over to one of the vacant chairs at the main desk, and sat in it. With little care for the important equipment before him, he put his feet up onto the desk, and picked up a small device. "What's this?" he asked the comms officer, staring at it.

"Don't touch that!" the young recruit replied. "That's a prototype COFDM OEM module for UGV and other unmanned systems."

"Sounds stupid!" Eli exclaimed, and he tossed it aside. He looked around for something else to occupy himself with. As it was the only thing in reach, he picked up a headset and began to fiddle with the small dials on the side.

In his Irish accent, the comms officer said, "Would you kindly put down that headset and leave the command centre immediately!"

"Fine, fine," Eli gradually stood up, his hands open-palmed and up, as if he was innocent in the matter. A small smile across his face, he swivelled around and headed for the door. Thoughts of what he should do next occupied his mind.


	5. The Brightside

It only took a few hours of eating and waiting for Eli to get bored and return to his room. When he got there, Chloe was still on her bed, sitting up on the side. She looked at him when he walked in, and Eli noticed the sadness in her eyes. He sat on his bed opposite her, and raised his right leg, resting it horizontally on his left leg.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

She looked back at him, "It's nothing. I just... The Deputy Chairman was right, whichever way this mission goes; it'll be my last..."

It didn't take much for Eli to realise what she meant by this, and it seemed to him as though there was nothing he, or anyone else, could do. He stood up and sat down to her right, putting his left arm around her shoulders. He took his right index finger, and rested it on her chin, turning her head to face him. With sympathetic eyes, he stared into her glistening blue ones. Hoping to cheer her up, he gave her a reassuring smile.

After a short while, he stood up, taking her hand and encouraging her to stand up too. "Well come on then," he said.

"What?" she asked, confused by his actions.

He looked into her teary eyes. "Well," he smiled. "If this is your last mission, let's go and have some fun. We'll be leaving soon anyway."

Her hand in his, Eli led Chloe, confused yet curious, out of the barracks. They walked out onto the platform and surveyed the scene. It was only in the extreme light of the sun that Chloe noticed the bag in Eli's free hand. She peered round at it and then asked, "What's that bag for?"

Eli brought the bag round to his front. "Oh this?" he replied, patting it. "I found this in the barracks." He reached in and from within the bag emerged a football. "What to have a little kickabout?" He bounced the ball a couple of times before looking back at Chloe.

She looked at the proud expression on his face and sighed. "Alright then," she said, smiling.

Having bounced the ball a few more times, Eli began doing kick-ups, keeping the ball off the ground, before passing it to Chloe. She received the ball and flicked it over her head with such control that Eli was taken aback.

"Weren't expecting that, were you, hotshot?" she smirked.

"Try me," Eli laughed.

The challenge accepted, Chloe played around with the ball a bit more, before chipping high into the air. However, a high ball was nowhere near enough to stop Eli. He took a few steps back, before launching off the ground, receiving the ball on his chest. It bounced forward a little, allowing him to then follow by controlling it with his knees.

The time flew faster than the ball when Eli smashed it, and before the two knew it they were out of breath. Tired, panting like dogs, they wiped their foreheads and put the ball back into the bag. A refreshing breeze caught itself within the strands of Eli's hair. For one moment then, he felt more alive than ever.

"So," Eli began, bending over to put the ball back into the bag. "Let's go and hit up some special room and screw with some computers!"

"Eli," Chloe sighed, unimpressed. "I honestly was beginning to think you were actually more mature than my initial thoughts."

"Yeah right!" Eli joked, and the two laughed.

They let the setting sun settle on their foreheads, before walking over to the side of the platform. The sun's reflection glistened off of the water, and the surrounding waves were coloured orange, like the bright ball of plasma looming over them.

"It's amazing," Eli said.

"What's amazing?" Chloe asked.

"The sun."

"I suppose so, I never really thought about the sun as something 'amazing'."

"Never have I seen a sunset so beautiful," Eli began turning to Chloe. "Since when I had basic training."

"Oh?" Chloe was intrigued. "Where did you have basic training anyway?"

"The Middle East," Eli smiled. "Afghanistan..." He pulled out a necklace of teeth. "I wore this, trophies of the animals I'd hunted, to remind the others to stay away."

"Fox teeth?" Chloe laughed, unsure.

"No Chloe, you see, in the Middle East we don't hunt foxes," he corrected her. "We hunt jackals." He paused for a moment. "Our basic training was following a new course, only just approved by the board members, and it was very difficult..."


	6. Basic Training

On the 97th day, Eli had had enough. But this was no time to look back on what had been, only to focus on the next four days that he had to obtain a grey shirt. He had climbed mountains, crossed rivers and traversed Bande Pitaw. No longer could he feel the aches of his legs, or the immense heat of the Afghan sun.

In order to await the briefing that was soon to come over his radio, he sat down in a chair in his small cabin. Keeping his hunting knife near, he surveyed his peripheral vision for any kind of intrusion, human or not. He brought his right leg on to his left leg, his ankle resting on his knee. For a short while, he examined his dirty boots and ankle socks. For all the time he had been wearing them, they had kept their shape well, unlike his military jacket, torn at the shoulders; rendering it sleeveless. Normally, his shorts, khaki like all his other clothes, would fall beyond his knees, but he rolled them up so that they ended just above. The only thing covering his bare chest was his necklace of jackal teeth; a warning to all other recruits.

When reaching over to pick up his radio, he noticed his hands were bare. Frantically, he searched the area surrounding his sleeping bag for his gloves. Much like everything else he wore, they were khaki green. As he put them on, he saw the number inscribed on the back; 13. While it was perhaps not the most fortunate of blessings, it represented his recruit candidate number. Initially, there had been 24, but three broken bones, two dislocated limbs, five quitters and an unlucky six who ran into the challenge unprepared, left a fearsome eight remaining.

The new system in place for basic training at Cherub required candidates to go out into a semi-guided trek in a named location, in Eli's instance it was Afghanistan, where they would be left on their own for one hundred days, to survive not only the wildlife but also their fellow trainees. Eli's activities on campus and in the earlier days of basic training had given him quite the reputation, and presented him with many enemies. For this reason, he bore the necklace of jackal teeth.

A beeping snapped Eli out his trance, and alerted him of his incoming radio call. It was the instructors, Sergeant Splint and Lieutenant Abrams, who had called to deliver Eli his briefing. The message detailed the recommended path to continue his trek. He was required to descend from his hilltop cabin, traverse the woodlands, followed by a bit of desert, and then cross a river, by dusk. Eli holstered his hunting knife and arose from his seat. In his pack he placed the radio and all of essentials he had left on the cabin floor.

Heat from the hot sun flooded his skin upon his face as the young boy left the cabin. He checked his surrounding are, before taking cover behind a rock. No doubt, there were others of the remaining eight nearby, and thus he didn't risk one moment of exposure. 97 days out in the sun were enough to drive anyone to kill for one of the only three grey t-shirts to be claimed. From the mini-pack on his belt, he removed some binoculars, and looked through them, across the land ahead. As far as Eli could tell, the forest seemed to stretch for 14km, a distance he could walk in no more than three hours.

According to his radio, the time was 0602 hours, and sunset in Afghanistan was recorded as 1643 hours in early December. This would give him ten hours and forty one minutes at best. When he was sure it was safe, Eli gradually stood up and began progressing down the mountain side. As he was walking along, he replaced his binoculars in his mini-pack, by his water canteen.

He was very careful not to slide down the dusty trail, into the gaping mouth of the woodlands. Small pebbles tumbled down in front of Eli as he steadied himself and continued to advance towards the forest. Suddenly, an unanticipated rock, the size of a pineapple, hit his left leg from behind. Eli's left side fell forward first, turning him slightly, before the rest of his body followed. The winds hissed in his ear as he plummeted to the bottom. Luckily, it hadn't been a very far fall, but his leg was bruised. As he sat, back to the forest, he looked up the mountain, and soon caught a glimpse of the cause.


	7. A Rival Living a Lie

It was at this time that Eli saw him towering above, another trainee, thirsty for blood. Normally, Jack wouldn't hurt a fly, let alone his old friend Eli. However, Eli knew that Jack, like him, was willing to do anything for one of those shirts. The past ninety six days had been more than enough to let the trainees know that they did not want to be among the twenty one who had to do the basic training again, having dropped out or failed to obtain a shirt.

There was no doubt that Eli would need to confront Jack; running would be foolish, and there was no way that Jack would leave him alone. Maintaining eye contact, Eli arose from the dusty ground. He held is left hand up in front of him, upholstering his hunting knife with his right. He slowly stepped back, watching as Jack descended down the same trail that Eli had, albeit with a bit more grace.

A single drop of sweat trickled down his right temple as Eli awaited Jack first move. Jack began to raise his hands, and Eli tightened his grip on his knife. However, much to Eli's surprise, Jack's hands were open, palms outward facing, as he raised them. After a moment of confusion, Jack spoke up, "I've been following you since day twelve," he began. "When we were separated that is. I see you're still as trusting as ever." He laughed, but Eli simply grunted, keeping his attack stance. "Anyway, I thought, perhaps, that we could team up for the last few days, and go after those three shirts; take two, give the last to the first to roll up. Sound cool?"

Slowly, Eli lowered his hands, holstering his knife, and looked Jack up and down. He stared into Jack's eyes, his brow furrowed, "Put your hands down, you look stupid." Jack lowered his hands, and then the two laughed a little. "The partnership sounds fine to me. Good to see you again, Jack. I'm going to go ahead and forget that whole stalker thing though."

Jack smiled and walked over. Both of them knew where they were headed, and so Eli simply updated Jack on the information he'd come up with on the forest. The next three hours would feel a lot easier with a friend, as far as Eli could tell. As the two traverse the forest, Eli left his hand to rest on his belt, over his hunting knife. This was partly due to the unpredictable nature of the forest, but also due to the addition of his new 'ally'.

As the two reached a small stream, Eli stopped Jack; his canteen needed a refill. Water from the stream quickly flooded into the canteen, and as he arose, Eli turned to Jack. "Just so you know," he informed him, "You're my sidekick, not the other way."

"Fair enough," Jack laughed.

The wildlife of the forest didn't seem to prove much of a difficultly for the two as they traversed the remaining part of the forest. As the time went on, and they grew slightly more tired, the countless branches they had to push past became more frustrating rather than actual obstacles. As if the unbearable heat wasn't enough, when the two exited the forest into the small desert area, they were hit with an overwhelming heat wave.

Unlike many larger deserts, this small wasteland was mainly solid and dusty, similar to the trail on the mountain. This made the trek up the small hill a little harder, even with their boots on. They both decided that the best way to get over was to use their hands is well. After a short amount of time, the two appeared at the top, and surveyed the path ahead. It wasn't much more than 3km to the river, as far as Eli could tell with his binoculars. He predicted that a forty minute walk would suffice.

The walk was slow, but not too bad. Every step was just another one closer to victory for the two, who were dead set on obtaining grey shirts. When they arrived at the river, they saw how wide and fast it was. It didn't matter that it was merely one foot deep, only that it would swipe anything away in seconds. The two thought on their problem.

"There," Jack said, pointing to a tree. "The river's been eroding the rock and soil beneath and it's quite weakly supported now. If we push it over, it should make a bridge."

The idea sounded easy than it really was, but the two tried. If it was the solution, there had to be a way of making it work. Eli saw a rather plank-like piece of bark and picked it up. As Jack continued to try and push the tree over, Eli aided him and the river by shovelling away the sediment beneath the tree.

After no more than ten or so minutes' hard work, the two had collapsed the tree, and in turn formed a bridge. Eli went first, crouched as he moved, step by step, with his hands only inches from the tree, just in case. When he arrived at the other end, he signalled Jack over and controlled his heavy breathing and fast heartbeat.

From there, the two simply had to walk a little longer, before reaching a large rock a few hundred metres in front of a cabin. Using his binoculars, Eli scouted out the area. The cabin seemed vacant, and there was no one, trainee or not, to be seen. Cautiously, the two approached the cabin, weapons at the ready, and settled in. Jack took guard duty, patrolling the interior perimeter, so as to check through all the windows, which were simply rectangles cut into the wood, rather than glass. On the other side of the cabin, was Eli, staring off into the most beautiful sunset he had ever laid his eyes on.


End file.
